Brothers and Sisters
by AnyaLehnsherr
Summary: Raven misses her brother. Erik relates to her with memories of his sister. Set a little bit after X-Men: First Class


Raven was glad she went with Erik. She knew it was the right choice. She didn't want to live in a world where she had to hide her true form. She didn't want any mutant to have to hide. She wanted to live in a world where no one had to hide who they were.

But she missed her friends. She even missed Sean and Alex, even though she thought they were immature. She missed Hank. All of them understood not wanting to advertise your mutation, but he was the only one who understood the real meaning of hiding. If only he could see that being a mutant was nothing to be ashamed of. Then he would be here with them. She had been such a lonely child. She hadn't gone to school because she had been afraid someone would find out who she really was. For the first time in her life, she had felt accepted. She had felt like she finally understood what it was to have friends.

Most of all, she missed Charles. She liked the others, but she loved Charles. He was her brother. He had rescued her from a life on the streets. He had cared for her. They grew up together. They played together. They celebrated birthdays and Christmas together. They had been there for each other through everything. Even though she wasn't born to his family, he was her brother and she was his sister.

Raven was sitting on her bed looking out the window. She spent a lot of her time looking out the window like that. She didn't know what she expected to see. She sometimes hoped she would see Charles coming to join them, but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Am I interrupting anything, Raven?"

"No. I'm fine, Erik."

"I can tell you're not." Erik hesitated. This was the part he wasn't good at. He knew how to lead his troops. He knew how to smooth talk people into listening to him. But personal conversations had never been his strong suit. Perhaps when he was a child, but that might as well have been an eternity ago. He continued. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"I'm glad to be here, Erik. I truly am. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do. And I'm glad to have you here."

"I have no regrets. I know why I'm here and I love being with you. It's just..."

"It's Charles, isn't it?"

"How did you know that?"

"I know what it's like. I miss him too."

"You don't know what it's like, though. He was more than my friend, Erik. He was my brother."

"I do know what it's like, Raven. Did I ever tell you about my sister?"

"I didn't know you had one."

"Her name was Ruth."

"Was? What happened to her?"

"They killed her. When the Nazis came for us, we tried to run. We knew we had to escape. But we couldn't. They found us. They shot my father and sister. I watched my sister's body drop to the ground. There wasn't anything I could do. I couldn't save her. Their bodies weren't even properly buried. The Nazis just dumped their bodies in a mass grave. There were so many of my people in that grave. My mother and I were sent to Auschwitz. My mother was killed there too."

Erik wanted to cry but didn't. That was one skill he still had from the camps: not showing his true emotions. Raven cried for him. A tear rolled down her cheek listening to his story.

"Erik, I had no idea. I... I..."

"It's alright, Raven," Erik said as he wiped the tear from her cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Erik. That's horrible."

"It was. And I still miss them. I miss my father's laugh and my mother's smile. But I miss Ruth the most. I don't think I'll ever stop missing her. It's ok that you miss your brother, Raven. It's a reminder of how much love you had."

"How do you do it, Erik? How do you go on living when you've lost so much?"

"Survival is all about choices. You can't always choose what happens. I didn't choose to have my sister stolen from me. You may have chosen to leave your brother, but you didn't choose for him not to follow us. But you have to choose to survive. Choose to continue living despite your pain. You do have a choice, Raven. Always. And if you don't choose to keep moving despite your pain, it consumes you. I've given up on ever not having my pain. But I live through it."

"I don't know if I'm as strong as you, Erik."

"Do you think a twelve year old boy was stronger than you? That's how old I was when they came for us. I wasn't strong, Raven. I became strong because I had to and I chose to. You can do the same. You are in a position where you have to be strong. I promise you, if you choose it, you can be strong enough."

"You really believe I can?"

"Definitely. And don't forget, Raven. Every mutant out there is a brother or a sister to us now. You're not alone."


End file.
